Harvey Palmer died peacefully at his home in Guildford on 9th July 2020. His sons and daughters had spent the previous night reminiscing at his bedside. Under Covid-19 pandemic restrictions, family and friends gathered on 22nd July at St Pius X Church in Merrow to celebrate his life before his committal at Guildford Crematorium.
Harvey was born in Gosport Hampshire on 7th May 1939 to parents Sydney and Margaret. He attended St John's college in Portsmouth before embarking on a career in the lock industry, initially with Chubb and later ME Duffell. In 1973 he met Joan his wife, when he was working in Dublin for a couple of years. They married in St Joseph’s church, Guildford, in 1979.
Since 1977 Harvey had lived in Guildford, apart from a brief move to Wolverhampton. He worshipped at St Pius X Church. Invariably he would be found contributing to the Mass by strumming a double bass. Harvey’s professional expertise maintaining the church locks was greatly appreciated by the parish. He was part of a team that raised funds for a children’s feeding programme at St Pius X Church in Georgetown Guyana.
Harvey joined the Guildford Catenian Circle on 4th March 1998. He took the roles of Marshall and Chamberlain with enthusiasm.
He engaged with everyone positively. Neighbours, shop keepers, church groups, music groups, sports clubs, the postman or the Catenians. You could trust Harvey and his dog Scruffy to spot something awry and do something about it. The local people all referred to his pleasantness and the time he had for people. It is no surprise that nipping out for a paper would often take up to 2 hours. Harvey had a sense of integrity. He always wanted to do the right thing, not just for himself but for all, whether family or in business.
Harvey was cool. Or at least as cool as an octogenarian can get! You knew he paid attention to the whole subject of cool and not just in appearance. This was surely why he gravitated to music, favouring naturally the coolest of all music - jazz. Even his instrument, the double bass, exuded coolness. Harvey could be at the centre of the whole sound while hardly seeming to expend any effort at all. Initially belonging to a pub band, later he formed his own band “Serve Chilled” with much younger confederates. They sounded great because they had the energy and enthusiasm of youth, a force their senior leader could absorb and reflect back to them.
He could immediately relate to those he met, a knack that made him good at dealing with customers, including the toughest customers he had to deal with in Ireland, his prospective wife Joan’s family! But he succeeded and became a full-fledged member of the clan. Harvey and Joan built the kind of shared life together that could include Annie and Ellie, his daughters from his first marriage, warmly welcome their sons Stephen and Andrew, and later their wives Katie and Clair, along with parents, siblings, relatives and friends. No father could have been happier or basked more in the recognition Stephen and Andrew each received from Her Majesty and Her Majesty’s government.
His support of others as a Catenian and his generous friendship to all in the parish community, were only the most visible signs of what was within his heart. Harvey was at ease with everyone and everyone was at ease with him because all saw his unconditional acceptance. If Jesus sported a goatee and strummed a double bass in a jazz combo, he might have looked like Harvey.
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| Bro. Harvey Palmer 1939 to 2020 |
May he rest in Peace
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